Liberty Middle/High School Grades 5-8

Liberty Elementary School

The Dignity for All Students Act

Questions or Concerns

If you have any questions and/or concerns related to the Dignity Act, contact the DASA coordinator in your child’s school.

Report an Incident

If you believe you, or someone else, has been the target of harassment, bullying–including cyberbullying–or discrimination, please use this form to report all allegations.

Introduction

New York State’s Dignity for All Students Act (Dignity Act or DASA) seeks to provide the State’s public elementary and secondary school students with a safe and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment, and bullying on school property, a school bus and/or at a school function.

The Dignity Act was enacted by the State of New York in 2010, and implemented in July 2012. Its purpose is to provide students with a school environment that is free of discrimination and harassment by peers and school personnel.

Overview

The goal of the Dignity Act is to create a safe and supportive school climate, where students can learn and focus, rather than fear being discriminated against and/or verbally and/or physically harassed.

All public elementary and secondary students have the right to attend school in a safe, welcoming, considerate and caring environment.

The Dignity Act states that NO student shall be subjected to harassment or discrimination by employees or students on school property or at a school function based on their actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity or expression. DASA is intended to protect all students.

Highlights

Q. Who is protected by the Dignity Act?
A. All public elementary and secondary school students are protected by the Dignity Act.

Q. What does the Dignity Act prohibit?
A. The Dignity Act prohibits the harassment and discrimination of students by students and school personnel.

Q. How does the Dignity Act relate to bullying and hazing?
A. Bullying and hazing are forms of harassment and discrimination.

Q. What physical spaces are covered by the Dignity Act?
A. The Dignity Act applies to behavior on school property (including athletic fields, playgrounds and parking lots), in school buildings, on a school bus/vehicle, as well as at school-sponsored events or activities. The Dignity Act of 2013 has been expanded to include cyberbullying defined as harassment by any form of electronic communication, and include incidents occurring off school property that create or would foreseeably create a risk of substantial disruption within the school environment.

Q. How does the Dignity Act relate to the school’s Code of Conduct?
A. The Code of Conduct has been amended to reflect the prohibition of discrimination and harassment of students by students and staff – in age-appropriate plain language.

The Liberty Central School District Code of Conduct includes the requirements of the Dignity for All Students Act. To this end, the district condemns and strictly prohibits all forms of discrimination and harassment including bullying, taunting or intimidation, against students by students and/or employees on school property, which includes school buses, school sponsored events such as extracurricular events or activities and, in certain circumstances, off-school-property/off school campus conduct, such as cyber-bullying, that is based on but not limited to a student’s actual or perceived race, weight, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious practices, mental or physical abilities, sex, sexual orientation and/or gender identity. To review the complete Code of Conduct, click here. For a printed copy, contact the District Office at (845) 292-6990.

The Liberty Central School District is committed to providing a positive school environment where all students feel safe and can focus on learning. If you or someone you know has experienced harassment or bullying please contact your building’s Dignity Act Coordinator, download and fill out a complaint form or use the Anonymous Alerts reporting system to confidentially report urgent information.